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Lake Placid Horse Show Association Chairman Richard M. “Dick” Feldman is the driving force behind the success of the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows. The effort he puts in promoting and improving Lake Placid’s famed horse shows is a true labor of love, and he is fully committed to doing everything in his power to make sure that everyone who comes to Lake Placid enjoys their visit there to the fullest.

Dick’s efforts go way beyond what he does during the two weeks of horse shows. He spends part of his winter at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, not only seeking exhibitors’ input on improvements, but also making sure that Lake Placid is part of their travel plans.

Dick joined the Lake Placid Horse Show Association Board of Directors in 1987 and was elected Chairman in 1991. It is clear to all who know Dick that nothing is more important to him than putting on a horse show that gives exhibitors “the best two weeks of a horseman’s summer!”

DF : I’ve been involved with horses ever since I was a child. As you all know, I’m still in my forties(!) and I ride every day whether I’m in New York or Wellington or hunting with the Scarteen Black and Tans in Ireland I most certainly ride every day when I’m on my farm in Lake Placid which is just a hop, skip and a jump from the horse show grounds. I helped found the New York Parks Department Mounted Auxiliary, I was Master of Hidden Hollow Fox Hounds in New Jersey and I am still a member of the Golden’s Bridge Hounds in North Salem, NY where I have hunted for many years. My family and I owned Bet Twice who won the Belmont Stakes in 1987 after fnishing second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

DF : For 40 years exhibitors have come to Lake Placid to start their summer in one of the world’s choicest resort destinations. The natural wonders of the Adirondacks, our frst-class facility with three all-weather rings plus our grass Grand Prix feld, our half-million dollars in prize money, and the professional management provided by Michael

DF : I guess what sets us apart is our grand prix feld and its natural terrain. The course designers use that terrain to set courses unlike what riders see the rest of the year. The riders get to go uphill and downhill and they just love being able to open up and gallop. We also make sure that everyone gets a turn to ride in that ring—amateurs, juniors, adults, even the childrens. If it’s that much fun riding in our grand prix feld, I want everyone to have a chance and that includes the hunters! Last year we held a USHJA Hunter Derby in the Grand Prix feld and it was a huge hit. It was an amazing setting and a fabulous atmosphere. The riders told me that it was the most fun they had all year.

DF :: We’re part of all the important series—Hall of Fame, NAL, Washington. Whatever exhibitors want to help get them indoors, we offer it in Lake Placid. We have short-stirrup classes, and my favorite, the Lead Line class. Seeing those kids dressed up in their hunt coats and breeches and riding helmets, all so excited to ride in the same feld as the grand prix riders, well nothing gives me as big a thrill. And, of course, we have our annual Doggie Costume Contest that was the brainchild of my wife, Diana, who is the unoffcial “Social Chairman” of the horse shows.

DF : You defnitely have that right. This is a resort town with frst-class hotels, the fnest restaurants and a quaint Main Street with shops up and down the street that are so much fun to go into. But it’s a town that has also managed to keep its natural charm. Hiking, tennis, golf, boating, canoeing, swimming—you name it, Lake Placid has it. And we add things like hockey, ice skating, a golf tournament, even a short-stirrup clinic for the kids! I invite everyone to come this summer, and please let everyone know that if there’s anything they need, they should come fnd me and I will make sure that they fall in love with Lake Placid just like the rest of us have.